Forever Peace
by FallingxForever
Summary: Aria is being sent off to marry the prince of angels while someone else doesn't seem to want that to happen.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Princess or Princess

_June 24th_

_Hello, I am Aria. Princess Aria, of the kingdom of Plis. Recently, our kingdom has been under attack by the kingdom of Fritz. They are against a human marrying an angel, as either my sister or myself shall be sent to marry the Prince of Angels._

_My elder sister is also a princess of the kingdom of Plis. Maximas, or as we call her Max. Max seems to be her usual laid back self, even though security has been tightened up._

_Currently we are at the Garden Palace. I'm not sure how long we'll be here, but until the new palace is complete we must stay here. I hear someone knocking. I shall put this diary away and write down all the important things in here as they happen._

Aria hid the leather-bound book, finger combed blonde her hair, and hurriedly opened the door. A short girl walked in; her shoulder-length, light brown hair resting on her shoulders, and dark brown eyes glancing across the small, classic castle-style room. "Aria," she spoke, her voice full of authority. Aria noticed she had on one of her more dressy dresses, and pulled part of her hair up. "It's almost time to go to the ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Aria blinked her light blue eyes in confusion and tilted her head to the side a little.

"To announce who will marry the Prince! How could you forget?!" Aria's eyes opened wide.

"It's today?"

"Yes."

***

The Grand Hall of the Garden Palace was filled with life and activity when Aria and Max arrived. The marble stair cases and arch ways were polished until they shined and the assorted plants and flowers were trimmed and watered, looking very healthy. Aria slid through the crowd her puffy light blue dress and bow not the only reason why she was gathering many stares.

"That's Princess Aria!"

"She's sooooo pretty!!!!"

"Princess Maximas will definitely be chosen over her."

"Ewwww. It's Princess Aria."

"She's so small for her age!"

"How old is she?! She can't be 18!"

Although Aria had lived her whole life in the public eye, and it was natural that people would talk about her, she blushed a little Everytime she felt someone's gaze on her, or heard her name called. She only felt better when the royal speaker called everyones attention.

"If I may have everyone's attention," he began, eyes glazing over the crowd until it was silent. "We will announce which princess will be marrying Prince Kaden of the Angels." There was a silence, interrupted by someone shouting:

"Just tell us all that Princess Maximas is the chosen one!"

Several whispers broke out. "SLIENCE!" the crowd stopped. "The princess to wed Prince Kaden is…PRINCESS ARIA!"

Silence filled the room. Then whispers broke out. "Why her? She's only 18!"

"Princess Maximas should have been chosen!"

"She can't be old enough!"

"The kingdom is going to the dogs! Next they'll suggest we all sacrifice ourselves to Fritz!"

***

Aria's head was pressed up against the stained glass of the window. Tears ran like rivers down her face. She glanced up at the stars and clouds overhead. "Why mom? Why?"


	2. Chapter 2

**If you got 2 emails about this...Sorry! I had to edit something right after i uploaded it. Sorry it took so long, but its here!!!!! FINALLY!!! (in case anyone's wondering, Brawl Idol will have the first chapter out soon! It's taking longer than I expected.) Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reveiwed! *Hugs* Special thanks to Sweswe! I know this sounds really lame, but your review helped me re-evaluate Aria's character and develop her backstory a little better! Thank you so much! Enjoy the new chapter, and (since my new chapter will probably be after Thanksgiving), Happy Thanksgiving!**

Chapter 2: Prince of the Sky

_June 25__th_

_It seems, despite many protests, that, Princess Aria, have been chosen to marry Prince Kaden. I don't know what to do. I am flattered, but I don't think I should have been chosen. Max is 20, and I am just barely 18. I do not know…_

Aria flipped the leather bound book shut. Not even 24 hours after the announcement and the news already soared across the nation. Maybe even into Fritz. "Princess Aria," a booming voice came from the door. "It is time we leave."

"A-alright. Where exactly are we going?"

The voice sighed.

"I'm sorry,"

"Not your fault your highness. We will be heading over to Prince Kaden's Palace. Then after the security measures are met, we will take you and Princess Maximas to The Desert Palace."

"O-okay…"

20 minutes later Aria was in a carriage headed to Prince Kaden and his palace. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a vain attempt to keep herself cool. It was a hot June, and the temperature in the carriage was nearing 100 degrees. The carriage bumped and bounced along the dusty road. Aria laid down across the bench seat in the cabin. Normally, she and Max shared the cabin and kept each other entertained by staring out the windows and making shapes in the clouds. _I wish she was here._

The carriage came to a complete stop. Aria sat up and looked out the windows. There wasn't a thing in sight for miles. _Why did we stop?_ Suddenly the carriage gave a lurch upwards. _What the-?!_ After a few minutes of ascending, Aria glanced out the windows. Clouds were everywhere, and was that, an angel? Aria looked. Not one but a dozen or so appeared. They seemed to be directing the carriage. After about 10 minutes of this, and Aria curled up in a ball, insides squirming uncomfortably, the carriage stopped.

Aria slowly sat up. Someone opened up the door. Aria checked to make sure her hair wasn't completely messed up, as someone announced "Princess Aria, of the Kingdom of Plis!" Aria stuck a nervous foot out and stepped out. Clapping everywhere. There were dozens of angels, all clapping. _What's going on? _She nervously walked down the steps, and was instantly greeted by a young man.

"Hello Princess Aria! I am Prince Kaden!" Kaden was tall, with lavender colored hair and ruby eyes. The thing that immediately caught Aria's eyes though was not his abnormally colored hair and eyes, but his wings. They had a wingspan of about 6 feet, white with golden tips.

"H-Hello, Prince Kaden," she stammered.

"Why don't we discuss things over lunch?"

***

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Prince Kaden,"

"No need to call me Prince!" Kaden replied, swallowing a grape. "And it's no big deal. But anyway, on to the important information, your protection." Kaden's smiling face suddenly turned serious. "I think it's best if I leave you in the hands of the most capable person I know," Kaden turned. "PIT! COME HERE!" he turned his attention back to Aria. "Like I said, I'll be leaving you in the most capable hands I know, the head of my army, Pit."

Aria noticed for the first time, a young man standing behind Kaden. He wore a white tunic and had white wings which contrasted greatly with his chocolate colored hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Hello Princess Aria, I look forward to protecting you."

Aria blushed and could only mange to mutter a quick "H-hi."

"As I was saying Aria," Prince Kaden continued, leaning back on his chair so it balanced on two legs. "You'll have the protection of Pit wherever you go. He's the best in all of Angel Land, he won't screw up." Kaden had a cocky grin printed across his cheerful face.

"B-but Prince Kaden, w-wont you need his help h-here?"

"Don't call me that," Kaden ordered. "Just Kaden is fine, or Kay-Kay, I really don't mind. As for Pit here, well I'd say you need the protection more than I do. Plus Pit is pretty nice to talk to."

"Yo, Ari, this place is awesomeeeeee! We really need to convince father to build a palace like this one! It's frickin' ah-maz-ing!" Max strode over followed by a few timid bodyguards. Spotting Kaden and Pit she quickly blurted out an "Oh heyyyyy! Nice pad ya got here Kaden!"

"MAXIMAS!" Aria gaped in shock that Max actually had the guts to speak so informal.

"What?!" Max was biting off the end of a chocolate covered strawberry and promptly plopped down in a fluffy chair next to Aria.

"Y-you can't be so informal!"

"Yea, I can," Max said through a half eaten strawberry. "You're sooooo uptight Ari, its soooooooooo annoying. You need to like chillax or something, Geez."

Aria couldn't reply to that. Her brain froze mid-thought, and stayed there.

Max turned to Kaden and Pit. "So I haven't introduced myself. Sorry. I'm Maximas, Princess of Plis, although I prefer to be called Max." She gave a toothy grin.

"Hello, Max," Kaden smiled. "Can I call you Maxie?"

"Oh yea!" Max punched the air.

"Greetings Princess Maximas, I am Pit, leader of the army of Angel Land."

"Yo, Pit, how's it hangin'?" Max laughed. She had a certain glow about her when she laughed. Aria envied her carefree attitude, her confidence, and something else that she dare not speak of.

"Your Highnesses," a timid bodyguard approached them. "We need to leave if we are to make it to the meeting at the Desert Palace on time."

"Ughhhhhh." Max groaned. "Do we have to? Can't we just skip it? Meetings are sooooo stupid."

"Yes, His Majesty has requested you both be there."

Max pouted. "I guess we gotta go. Argh. Bye Kaden." Max turned to leave, and Pit followed her. Kaden and Aria were left alone. Aria stood up to leave, but as she turned around Kaden stood behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, and whispered in her ear.

"Farewell, my love, I will see you soon." he pulled her in close and kissed her cheek, and slowly released her from his grip.

Aria tripped over her own feet trying to escape from the room. She somehow managed to find her way back to the carriage. She slipped into the carriage and sat opposite Max and Pit. The bustling of the workers outside the carriage kept Aria in the present, and it wasn't long before the carriage lurched forward. It was a mere matter of minutes before Max, Aria, and Pit were soaring away from the grand palace in the sky and back to the green earth below.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So I finally updated!!! Woot woot! I'm thinking about re-writing chapter 1...let me know what you think via PM or review! And, more smashers coming soon! I promise! Enjoy!!!**

Chappie 3-From the Sky to the Sand

_June 25th_

_I met Prince Kaden today. He seems relaxed. A little too relaxed I believe. Almost as cocky and careless as Max. I also found out that Prince Kaden also sent the leader of his army, Pit, to protect me until the marriage. I still cannot believe that I am actually getting married. I do not know what to do._

"…It's okay Pit, she zones out a lot and randomly pulls out that book and writes stuff in it." Max's voice sounded distant.

"What?" Aria shut the old, brown leather book and looked around the small golden carriage. Pit and Max were talking, Max laying across the bench. Pit was sitting a little uptight, and looking slightly uncomfortable. Max glanced up at her.

"While you were zoning out, I was talking to Pit," Max closed her eyes. "MAN IT'S HOT! GEEZ. WHY CAN'T THERE BE SOME FRICKIN' AC?! HUHHHHH?!"

"Max…it's called the Desert Palace because it's located in the Sanian Desert."

"Are you trying to imply something?" Max gave Aria a hard stare.

"I…uhhhh…no…it's…"

Max's face transformed into a happy playful one. "Just teasin' Ari. Haha. You really need to loosen up. You can't be so uptight."

Aria blinked. She knew she could be a little uptight, but did Max have to be so rude about it?

A few minutes of silence was broken by another of Max's complaints. "Oh. My. Freaking. Gawdddd. When are we gonna get there?! Gawdddd. We're gonna be like eighty thousand years old before we're there. Gawdd."

"Haven't you ever been to this palace before?" Pit asked.

"Nopezzzz. We hang in the Garden Palace in the Spring and Summer, and the Frozen Ice Palace during Fall and Winter." Max rambled before Aria could even open her mouth to reply.

"How many palaces are there?" Pit questioned, interest in his voice.

"Six. The Garden Palace, Frozen Ice Palace, Ocean Palace, Desert Palace, Mountain Top Palace, and Red Fire Palace. Each is located outside a village, except for Red Fire. Garden is outside of the village called Aphron, Frozen Ice is by Caen, Ocean by Pluie, Desert is just outside of Sania, and Mountain has Zeno. And of course there's also the ruling Lord or Lady. They run the palace and the village by it. Except Lord Ramus of Red Fire controls the military."

"And how are these Lords and Ladies chosen?"

"By blood." Aria's cheeks heated up at Max's words. Max took no notice. "They are all related. Ladies Phoebe, Shea and Lori Anne are cousins, Lord Ramus is an uncle, Ophilla's a great aunt, Whitney, the next in line is her daughter, Lord Ira…I don't know…Aria, what is Ira?"

"Ira? He's first cousin once removed. Marcus and Taylor are second cousins." Aria recited.

"Wow," Pit mumbled trying to take all of the information that had just presented itself in front of him. "That's complicated."

"I still don't have all of the third cousins memorized." Max laughed.

"How can you not know all of them?" Aria gaped.

"Because Second cousin Kristen is a whore, and keeps popping out kids."

"D-Don't be so rude Max," Aria's voice shook a little. "Kristen only has three kids: Jackie, Mac, and Teddy."

"Yea, but she's like a year older than me. Just turned twenty-one, I guess she might be pregnant again."

"You still shouldn't talk about her like that."

"So? She's MY second cousin, _I _unlike you-" but Max was cut short by a large screen, much like a television screen that had just flickered on. A man was centered on the screen, with broad shoulders, and a clearly defined jawbone. His red hair was parted off to the right side of his face, and his violet colored eyes sparkled. His name was Taylor.

"Your highnesses!" his voice sounded slightly excited. "I have instructions for you after your arrival in the Desert Palace. First, you need to attend a meeting, held in the meeting hall by the docking room, one of our soldiers will show you. But remember, as soon as you get there, go straight in. No goofing off. Then, we'll let you get settled and relax. Alright?"

"Do we have to go to the meeting?" Max groaned.

"Yes." Taylor replied.

"Noooooooo." Max groaned and began to beat her head against the seat she was laying on.

"We'll see you in the meeting. Have a safe trip!" The screen blackened and Taylor's face disappeared.

"OH. MY. GAWD. If I had a coin for every time we went to a meeting I'd be rich." Max continued to hit her head on the bench.

"You already are rich." Pit muttered.

Max glared at him. "You know what-" But Aria and Pit never found out what. Instead they were bucked off of their benches and thrown onto the floor. The whole carriage had begun to shake and swerve dangerously, and the two Princesses and the Angel were thrown around like popping popcorn. Aria hit her head against the walls more than once, and it seemed like the driver had lost control.

Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

"WHAT THE H*LL WAS THAT?!?!" Max's voice shook with fear.

The rest of the ride was uneventful.

***

Aria, Max and Pit arrived at the Desert Palace, to find hundreds of people swarming the docking room. Aria timidly stepped into the spacious, high-ceilinged room. There were all kinds of things happening in the room. People making quick repairs, carts being unloaded, but most of the people began to swarm around the small, golden carriage.

"Your highnesses!" a small, pudgy, square-shaped man called. Aria, Max and Pit all turned to him. "Please! Hurry! You're a bit late!" The small man raced off through the crowd and toward the nearest exit. Aria, Max and Pit followed. As they slipped through the door they entered a hallway. It was completely empty except for the three.

"Where's the meeting at?" Aria asked, glancing down each end of the hall.

"There," Max pointed to the door right in front of them that had a "DO NOT DISTURB!" sign on it. "Yep, let's go!"

"But the sign says 'do not disturb'" Aria said.

"So?"

"We shouldn't-" But Max had already opened the heavy door. Whatever conversation had been taking place before had stopped abruptly, and all twenty or so heads turned to face them.

"Welcome!" Taylor stood up from the long table and motioned to the three empty seats next to him. "Please sit. General Chao, please continue." Taylor sat down and Max, Aria and Pit filled the empty seats.

An older general continued his speech about the recent revolts around the boarder. Aria began to look around the room. The floor was a dark brown wood and the walls were a pale white with the symbol of the Desert Palace, a golden pyramid inside a circle, on them. She also noticed that there was a wall of screens, each bearing the face of a different noble along the screens. Lords Ira, Marcus, and Ramus along with Ladies Shea and Ophilla were each sitting proudly in front of a wall bearing the symbols of the Palace they represented. Lady Phoebe stood up a the head of the table.

"Welcome Princesses Max and Aria, to the Desert Palace, I hope you can find it relaxing here." Lady Phoebe had short, wavy dirty blonde hair that ended at her chin and bangs that framed her face. Her blue eyes sparkled with youth and intelligence, and she bore a distinct birthmark of a brown stripe in her right eye. She sat back in her chair and turned to face the wall of monitors.

"Lady Phoebe!" A young man's face appeared in one of the blank screens. "We've rounded them up!"

"Good. Bring them in for questioning."

Max leaded over towards Taylor and asked "What is she talking about?"

"Should I tell them?" Taylor looked at Phoebe and then at the wall of monitors.

"They'll find out eventually…even if we don't tell them." Lady Shea stated. She had long stick-straight chocolate colored hair and emerald eyes. She vaguely reminded Aria of a cat.

Murmurs of agreement filled the room.

"Alright…" Phoebe turned to the three. "Was your ride in a little bit bumpy?"

"Slightly…" Max rubbed the top of her head that she'd hit in the chaos.

"Well…" A dark look flashed Phoebe's face for an instance. "There was a bit of a run-in with some rioters. Don't worry, we've got them all rounded up, you heard."

"Rioters?" Pit spoke for the first time.

"Yes, some people don't support our recent decision." The air in the room became extremely tense, and Aria could feel a bright blush rising up on her face. "None the less that gives them no excuse to behave like a band of savages." Phoebe's blue eyes turned cold, and her voice became distant. "Especially since this isn't the first attempt."

"Attempt?" Pit seemed slightly interested.

"To kill Aria."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Sorry for the EXTREMELY late chapter! I got hit with a case of writer's block and I only started writing things other than one-shots today. I would also like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 3! Now, on with the long overdue chapter!

"Attempt?"

"To kill Aria."

The words echoed around the silent room. The air was tense and Aria couldn't help but sit in shock, completely paralyzed. She could die at any moment. Her stomach twisted up in several knots and she was starting to feel slightly sick.

"Although, we have the greatest protection planned for you," Phoebe turned to Aria. "We have a new recruit that will be your personal bodyguard for you and Max. Although, I do trust that Prince Kaden sent his best bodyguard, I want to ensure that nothing will happen to you."

Pit squirmed uncomfortably in his seat while Phoebe stared him down. "Any who, the bodyguard that I have hand chosen for you is Ike." Just then a tall, broad shouldered man walked into the room. He was very muscular and had dark blue hair and eyes to match.

Just then a voice from one of the monitors spoke. "And we are supposed to trust this man?" Shea's voice snapped from the monitor from the Ocean Palace.

Phoebe's eyes turned ice cold and she glared at Shea with a look of absolute death. "If I didn't trust him why would I be placing him in this sort of a position? Do you think I just pulled some man off the street and trusted the life of Princesses Aria and Maximas to the hands of a complete stranger?"

"Well, you haven't exactly made the best choices in the past Phoebe." Shea practically spat out her name. "So if you trust this man he must have some sort of creditably that you could share with us."

"Look," Ike spoke in a strong masculine voice. "I find it uncomfortable to spoken of like I'm not even here, so I would like to say something. My name is Ike, and I am a special agent of the Land of Plis. I have undergone many missions as a PSA (Plis Special Agent) and I swear to protect Princesses Aria and Maximas with my life, alongside Pit." Ike sat back down in the mahogany chair. Aria hadn't even realized he had stood up.

"Anyway, as I was saying Princess, you won't have to worry about security, and you can entrust that I will make sure that you won't receive any sort of misfortune from those 'terrorists'. No, no, I trust that you will be perfectly safe from any outside threat." Phoebe smiled a smile that looked innocent, although her eyes seemed to be full of malice. "So, there are no more questions?" When the silence answered her Phoebe continued, "Then meeting adjured."

_June 25__th_

_We (Max, Pit, and myself) have finally arrived at the Desert Palace. The air here is very dry and hot, Max can't go a full minute without complaining. We also met Lady Phoebe and Lady Lori Anne in a meeting today. They seem to be well from the last time we saw them. She assigned another guard for me, a young man named Ike. He and Max seem to be getting along quite well. I do not understand it. We were also attacked on our way here, seems as though they are very informed of my whereabouts…although Phoebe did say I was safe from any outside threats here in the palace under her watch._

_Although, I have heard peculiar things about Phoebe. She seems to be a "whore" or a "hoe". At least that's what I overheard one of the maids at the Garden Palace proclaiming (after she had transferred from here). She has something about her, an icy look in her eyes. I'm not quite sure if I can trust her. After all, according to what Max is currently saying some band made a song that said not to trust hoes._

"So, I see that Shea and Phoebe are still at each other's throats," Max commented, leaning up against then bench seat that was placed under the windowsill of a large window looking out unto the vast and endless desert sands.

Aria coolly replied back, "Haven't they always?"

"No, not always. Back a while ago, they were best friends."

"But what happened?" Pit asked. The angel was looking out the window of Aria's room with absolute longing at the starry midnight blue sky. He was laying on the large canopy bed on his stomach wrinkling the pink and orange blankets, which had golden borders and flecks in them. The woodwork around the completely round room was all in the same dark mahogany as the meeting room, coming up from the marble floors up to the high ceilings. A large fan swirled around rapidly at the top of the ceiling attempting to cool the room down, although the room was still very warm. Aria leaned her blonde head against the wood of the headboard and placed the leather book on the nightstand to the left of her. There were large bookshelves on either side of the bed that reached up to the ceiling, and a beautiful golden balcony that had the glass doors directly across the room from the foot of the bed, where Aria's trunk had been placed.

"Well," Max began. "It was at the family Christmas Party six years ago. It seems that Shea caught little Phoebe doing the nasty with Shea's boyfriend at the time."

"That's not good." Pit commented.

"It seems that he tried to apologize but she didn't forgive him," Max chuckled. "She even banished him from the Ocean Palace and Pluie and any other city or village within one hundred miles. As for Phoebe she said: I'm not going to apologize for something I'm not sorry for." Max did an impersonation of Phoebe that was even rivaled the original.

"Ouch."

"Hence why neither wants to speak to the either."

Aria, Max and Pit spent many days wandering up and down the staircases of the palace. It was all so new and different. The Garden palace, where they spent about half of the year, was similar to the Desert place but very different. The Desert Palace was built in the shape of a cylinder, whereas the Garden Palace was shaped like a normal palace, with many long staircases and tall marble hallways that made Aria feel tiny in comparison.

There wasn't really much that went on at the Desert Palace. The Desert Palace was only really used for defensive reasons, and as an army base and training faculty. The basement was the training area, and the first floor was where the docking room along with a few meeting and planning rooms. Basically, it was mostly a military base. This didn't really appeal to Max.

"There is absolutely NOTHING to do here!" Max groaned laying face first in her bed. "And there's no freaking air conditioning! ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! What am I supposed to do? Roast to death? Hmpf!"

_This is so not cool. _Max thought. _Why in the hell did they send us here? I mean, yeah maybe it had something to do with maybe the fact that some stupid terrorists want Aria dead, but still, can't they just freakin' send us to the magical land called somewhere exciting? I mean there is absolutely nothing to do! Everytime I try to have fun that stupid Phoebe comes up and spoils it! Espesically when I get too close to her room, my god it's like she's got something hiding in there! Whatever! Obsessive, controlling b****._

Max got up and looked out the window. All she could see for miles was sand. And lots of it. Sand dunes were everywhere she looked and the wind was blowing causing the sand to dance around in the air, weightless. Max envied them. To live without a thought, without any responsibilities, to just be, that would be nice, but Max knew that was impossible. She had been born into the royal family, and there was no backing out. She had a duty, to her kingdom, her people and her past. She wasn't going to let any of those down. Even if it cost her everything. She would never give up. Her mother always told her that.

She wasn't going to let her down. "Mom," Max said, a fist clenched against the glass. "I promise I won't let you down." Tears fell from Max's dark brown eyes. "I promise that this time, I won't fail."


	5. Chapter 5

"WAKEY WAKEY SLEEPY HEAD!" Aria's deep blue eyes slowly opened. Aria's room was still dark so at first she assumed it was still night, and that she had merely dreamed Max's voice yelling at her to wake up. Although after a few minutes, Aria realized that it wasn't a dream and Max really was in her room at four in the morning trying to wake her up.

"Max," Aria said sheepishly. "It's four in the morning. What do you want?"

Max smiled and laughed. "You must have forgotten what day it is!"

"Hmm?" Aria replied.

"Today's the day that Pit and Ike said they were gonna take us out to some of the pyramids! How could you forget?"

"Oh," Aria realized sitting up finally awake. "I must have forgot." It took a good minute for Aria to get her surroundings and to be able to see in the dim light from the small lamp on the nightstand.

"Well, hurry up and get ready we're leaving in a half an hour!"

"Alright, everyone understand what's going on?" Ike asked a half an hour later back in the docking room of the Palace, he looked from Aria to Pit and over to Max.

"Yep," Max replied. "They sent a team out already, but we're having Pit fly a few feet ahead of us to make sure that everything's safe, then we have about an hour and a half to get to the pyramids. Then, as the pyramids have lots of traps in them, even though we're going in pyramids that have already been checked out by PNAT (Plis National Archeology Team), we have to be on our guard, then we're leaving at approximately three o'clock, then estimated time of arrival back here is four-thirty."

Ike seemed a little shocked that Max could remember exactly everything he said, "Exactly. Now it's time to load up."

Max and Aria hopped into a carriage disguised as a simple cargo carrier. It was very typical to see cargo carriers leaving the Desert Palace and heading to the pyramids, seeing as it was the most convenient and least expensive way to go. The pyramids had a lot of history behind them, so naturally it was every historian and scientist's dream to be able to work in the pyramids, as they were the first buildings built in Plis. Aria and Max stepped into the carriage and sat on the cushioned benches. It was going to be a long and uneventful hour and a half.

_Max…Max…Max…_A sweetly familiar voice echoed through Max's ears. Max slowly opened her dark eyes. All she could see was darkness, inky blackness surrounding her, swallowing all the light. Max seemed to be floating, weightless. Or was it that she was slowly falling. She couldn't tell. Flashes of images, events flew past her on what seemed like large television screens. They all flew away before Max could get a good look at any of them, but there was a conversation that echoed through her ears.

"No, No NO!" Max could her a small version of her screaming.

"Max…" That sweetly familiar voice spoke again.

"Momma…no…don't go…away…please!" Max could hear the tears.

"Max…I…need you…to do…something…"

"What?"

"Save…bring…peace…to this land…please…"

"I…won't…let…you…down…"

"Thank…you…"

"MOMMA! …COME…PLEASE…DON'T LEAVE!"

"Max. Max. Max! MAX!" Max jumped and slammed her head on the wooden wall behind her.

"Dammit…" Max muttered under her breath rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, good you're awake now." Aria looked at Max concerned and Ike and Pit were nearby.

"What? Why?" Max couldn't really think clearly with the back of her head throbbing.

Ike cleared his throat. "Well, you were screamin', and usually when people scream in their sleep it's not a good thing."

"Oh."

"And," Ike added. "We're here."

Max stepped out of the carriage to see a large pyramid at her feet. The golden sand was warm, even through her shoes, and Max couldn't breath through the thick wall of heat. "Let's get inside," Ike shouted. "It'll be nice and cool in there." The group headed into the large archway. The inside of the pyramid was very cool and shaded, unlike the outside which was unbelievably hot and beaten by the sun. "Alright, let's see," Ike pulled out a map from his knapsack. "This way." He said, pointing straight ahead of them.

The inside of the pyramid was beautiful. The ancient artwork was certainly something that could only be defined as perfection. The architecture had withstood the sands of time and the desert, yet still shown beauty.

"Be careful, this area's full of traps and spiders and other gross stuff."

"Sp-sp-sp-spiders?" Pit asked, nervously stepping around as though the floor were hot lava.

"Yes," Ike paused. "That's what I said, spiders. What, are ya scared of a couple spiders?"

Pit paused before answering, and Max noticed that his skin looked whiter than normal, "Of course, h-how could you not be sc-scared of those…"

Ike turned and looked at Pit and said, "Dude, you need to man up."

Pit flushed, "I don't need to 'man up'!" Just then he got an unwelcome visitor land on his head. He then proceeded to run around screaming for his mommy.

_Geez, I thought that you were supposed to protect us. Glad to know we're in safe hands. _Max rolled her eyes. _If this continues, I am going to stab him with that bow._

The group had spent many hours wandering the ancient structure, when Ike said that it was two o'clock. The group had finally reached the entrance when they heard voices. "Oy! Johnson! Get outta da way! And shut the hell up, ya little twat, they'll hear ya!"

"Who'll hear who?" Ike asked.

A large, muscular man stepped in from the over-heated outside. He had a curly black beard and was carrying a large axe. "Heh," he laughed. "It's time fo' y'all to meet yur doom." He raised the axe and in a flash Ike stopped it with a quick draw of his sword. With the screech of metal against metal, more henchmen came pouring in. Pit stood protectively in front of Aria and grabbed his bow and an arrow.

Aria couldn't even remember everything that happened. It all happened so fast, it was all a blur. She could remember Ike screaming at the big axe wielder, "Who are you?"

With him replying a simple, "Hm. Wouldn't y'all like ta know!"

"Who are you working for?"

"That ain't none o'yur business."

Looking back on the fight Aria could have sworn it only lasted a few seconds. The whole thing was like a blur, a movie stuck on fast forward with no pause button. She couldn't even remember climbing back into the carriage and heading back to the palace, it all blurred into one block of memory.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Aria paced impatiently across her balcony. Her sky blue orbs kept following the grain in the stone balcony of her room. She wasn't exactly sure why she was pacing but it did keep her calm enough to slowly calculate things. She sighed and walked over to the railing. Watching the sand of the desert lift itself up and float back down onto another dune surprisingly entertained her. She was still shaken from the battle at the pyramids, and she had spent more time than usual inside, still worried. This was the first time in a long time that she had ventured outside, with the dry, hot air brushing against her soft skin. The setting sun felt good on her skin, and the sky itself was a gradient of purple, pink, red, orange, and yellow. Aria wished she had time to paint it, how pretty it would be, to have that sky forever with her, never changing always staying the same.

Aria was so wrapped up in her thoughts she almost didn't hear it. A soft thud in the distance, then the whistle as something flew and hit the railing right next to Aria. She jumped back in fear, and noticed the object was an arrow. It wasn't long until she heard another one whizzing by. Aria took a step backwards then ran as fast as she could back over to the doors to her room. But she was stopped by a large masked man. He grabbed her roughly with his massive hands. "Going somewhere?" He laughed a deep booming laugh, and Aria tried to slip out of his steel grip. Aria screamed. A high shrill scream echoed throughout the whole valley.

"Princess Aria," The voice of the guard stationed outside her door made its way to Aria's ears. "Are you alright?"

"Hel-" Aria's voice was cut off by the rough hand of the man as he pulled out a small dagger.

"Make another noise and I'll cut of that pretty little head of yours."

"But Zuku," A smaller, nasally voice came from the other side of the balcony. The man was small, with a bow and arrows strapped to his back and the same mask covering his face. "The boss said to bring her alive."

"I know what the boss said. I don't see-" Just then, a white arrow made of what seemed to be light, shot out of nowhere and landed at the feet of the smaller man.

The beating of wings told Aria that it had to be Pit. She looked over and saw the young angel floating with his bow raised, another arrow in place ready to be fired. "Unhand her." he commanded, voice sounding deeper and more powerful.

The large man, Zuku, snorted. "Hm. Why should I, Fairy boy?" He placed the dagger he had in his hand up against the soft, exposed skin of Aria's neck. "Make one move and I'll make sure she won't see the light of day again."

"Pit!" Aria could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. He stayed concentrated on the two men letting neither slip from his gaze for even a fraction of a second.

The archer reached for his bow, but before he could reach it, someone swung from a balcony above and kicked the archer flat onto his face. Ike grabbed the man and held him in a headlock. "Alright Pit, it's all you." He said keeping a good hold on the small archer. Pit leveled out his bow, making sure that he'd hit his target, and drew back.

"Hn? You forgot. I have _her_ right here," The man pushed the dagger against Aria's neck when he spat the word here. A few drops of sticky red liquid dribbled onto the floor.

"Pit!" she screamed, her voice becoming hoarse.

"Stupid common blood wench I said shut up." Zuku roared. Aria felt so tiny and weak.

Just then a small army of guards appeared and surrounded the two men, freeing Aria from his grasp. "Don't you ever hurt my baby sister ever again!" Max threatened the large man as he was being handcuffed and taken down to the prison. "Ari? Are ya okay?"

Aria hadn't noticed when she'd fallen to the ground. All she knew was that she was there, with the world becoming foggier and foggier. "Ari! Ari! ARIA!" And then all was dark.

Max brushed her hair out of her face, and sat in silence. She, Pit, Ike and Aria were sitting in Aria's room, still stunned about the attack that had happened. Aria had finally awoken with her neck bandaged up from the small cut. The silence in the room was thick and no one could quite understand how the intruders managed to get into the palace.

"Well," Pit tried to clear the silence. "I suppose it could be worse."

"No kidding." Max sarcastically replied. Another moment of awkward silence passed.

"Max." Aria spoke quietly. "I think it's time he knew the truth."

"The truth?" Pit asked.

Aria cleared her throat. "I am not royalty by blood. I was born to a common family and was abandoned in a field when a group of knights found me and took me back to the palace. The King decided to adopt me and give me a family. Unfortunately because of this the citizens do not see me as a true ruler, let alone worthy enough to be married to Kaden. They consider it an insult."

Pit was perplexed by the last part. "Why would they consider it an insult? Wouldn't they like it better that a common person is in such a powerful position?"

"The people of Plis," Max continued for Aria. "Are quite proud of their purely royal family. No blood from Fritz, or any non allied nation anywhere near us. And common blood is still considered completely different than royal blood. Despite what science has shown us."

Aria found her voice, "Plisians can be very high-strung sometimes. The fact that we let in a common blood into our family makes us look weak to nations like Fritz."

"It's really kind of stupid, Pit." Ike laughed. "We're so spoiled that we throw a temper tantrum when we don't look as 'sophisticated' as we'd like."

There was a knock. "Princesses, Sirs Pit and Ike, there is an important meeting going on in the meeting room."

Max rolled her eyes. "This will be so much fun."

Once again the group piled into the meeting room, Phoebe positioned at the head of the table, shuffling through some papers. The screens were all on all saying CONNECTING in large letters, with the symbols of the palaces showing which screen connected to who. They all had the circles like the Desert Palace, but then they had their own symbols and colors. The Ocean Palace had a teal starfish, Red Fire had a red fireball, Mountain had a lavender mountain, the Ice Palace had a light blue ice chunk, and the Garden had a green leaf.

One by one the monitors all connected, and the faces of the royal family appeared on each one. "Are all the monitors all connected?" Phoebe asked. The response was several yeses and few yeps. "Let us begin. Now I'm quite sure you all know the reason for this sudden and urgent meeting, correct?"

Again her question was followed by several affirmative answers. "Phoebe, I do not think the Desert Palace is the place for Aria and Maximas to be. The best place is Red Fire. They will definitely be safe here, and there will be absolutely no chance of any invasion." Ramus spoke calmly and carefully, weighting his words equally.

"Are you saying that I am an incompetent leader?" Phoebe questioned, her hands forming fists.

"No, I am just saying that we misjudged the situation. The situation is obviously more serious than we thought. We have to ensure the protection of-"

Phoebe slammed her fist on the table. "I will not stand for this! This is a complete disgrace to this Palace, the workers, the people of Sania, and me!"

"This not up for debate!" Ramus thundered.

"Oh yes it is!" Phoebe desperately shouted back. "Counsel, who believes that the Princesses should stay here?" There was absolute silence as none of the members raised their hands. "And...and...how many think they should go to that place?" Phoebe's voice was shaking.

All of the hands went up. "So it is settled. Tomorrow morning at six we will depart and you will go to the Red Fire Palace." Ramus commanded.

"Yes," Max and Aria replied.

"Good. Meeting adjourned."

Aria relaxed on her bed as she slowly tried to comprehend what was going on. She'd had a rough and long day, and she definitely needed some sleep. She reached up to turn off her lamp when she noticed a glass on the nightstand that she hadn't seen before. There was also I note by it:

_Just a drink to give you some strength for your journey tomorrow._

_-Phoebe_

_P.S. It may taste foul but it works._

_That's so sweet of Phoebe to give me a strengthening drink. _Aria took the small wine glass to her lips and let the violet liquid slide down her throat. When it tickled her tongue Aria almost gagged. It tasted horrible. It was very bitter and sour and was possibly one of the worst things she'd ever tasted. She still downed every last drop of it.

And then it happened. The whole room began spinning in different directions; the walls seemed to move freely. Her bed felt like a thing cloud and she felt as though she was falling. Everything was extremely hot and made of fire then next they became icy and frozen. Everything was moving so incredibly fast Aria couldn't keep up. Faster, faster, faster. Everything slurred together to make a wall of color. And then as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Aria fell back onto her pillow, and everything was still and black.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Every nerve in Max's body suddenly sparked with fire as she sat up in a quick fashion. Quickly running her hands through her swooped light brown bangs, she realized she was sitting in a grassy field, with a strong wind blowing through her hair, which ended about halfway down her neck, and ruffling the pale green grass. Her dark, almost black eyes glanced up, she noticed that the sky was a pale blue, with the clouds moving at the speed of a race car above her head. She noticed mountains surrounding her on every side and remembered where she was. She was in a small valley by the Mountain Palace, a place she visited once when she was very tiny.

Standing, she began to walk around the valley, discovering many little nooks and crannies of all sorts, finally taking a rest at a small pond. The pond was where she and her mother visited, many, many years before. The pond was said to be magical, blessed by the great sky god. Max remembered her mother saying that the small lavender flowers growing on the banks were said to cure most illnesses and aliments. However drinking the water was prohibited. Max brushed her fingers along the soft, sandy surface of the bank, the water creating a perfect reflection of Max. She stared at her reflection, an averaged sized girl in all sorts, she was not particularly curvy nor was she big breasted. Her nose was small and dainty, while her ears on the other hand, stuck out at the sides a little.

Then another figure, appeared behind Max. A tall, brunette, bearing the same nose as Max, and with green eyes the color of grass, dressed in the most beautiful dress one could imagine. It was every girls fantasy princess dress. Long and flowing emerald green velvet with small intricate gold embroidery and cords, the dress reached past the woman's feet and the long sleeves reached to the tip of her knuckles.

Max jumped and took a step back, almost slipping into the water. "Mother..."

The woman's pale face offered no recognition. "Maximas. The time has come."

"Mom?"

She continued in the deep commanding voice she'd originally spoken in, "Malicious forces will not rest. They are working away..."

"Wh-What do you mean?"  
"You need to protect them. And her."

"Mom, I don't understand what you're trying to say..." Max's palms had started to grow sweaty with the unease of the topic.

"Remember the lavender flowers, Maximas. If you want to save her." Just then Max's mother faded away into nothingness.

"Mom? What do you mean? Mom? Mom! MOTHER!"

Max jump started awake, the covers of her bed flying off of her sweaty skin. "What...just...happened?" Max panted, looking up from the bed sheets. The deep indigo sky was still dotted with milky stars. She ran her sweaty hands through her hair, trying to calm herself. She slid herself off of the blue and purple silk sheets and found herself wandering towards the hallway. _Maybe if I just walk around for a bit...maybe then everything thing will be better. _Her feet tread along the long winding hallway, toward Aria's room. She pushed open the door that lead to Aria's room.

It was dark, with a slight breeze flowing through the room, and then she smelled it. A sickening smell, that she instantly recognized as soon as she smelled it, and her fears were only confirmed when she turned on the light. The room was covered in a sticky scarlet liquid, and Aria's small crumpled body was in the center of it, pale and lifeless as possible. "No. No. No. NOOOOOO!" Max screamed and ran for the door, except she couldn't find it. The door vanished, and Max began banging on walls trying to find a way out. After a few minutes she felt a sticky wet liquid swim its way up her legs.

"NO! NO! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!" Max screamed and banged on the walls until she was submerged by the blood, drowning in it.

"MAX! MAX! MAX!" Max's eyes flew open. She was surprised to see she was back in her room, almost as if nothing happened.

"Where's Aria?" Max instantly jumped. Several guards had formed a circle around the bed, concern in each of their eyes. She also spotted Ike and Pit among the group.

"Princess Aria is in her room," One of the guards spoke up.

"Move!" Max jumped out of bed and tried to make her way over to the door.

"Princess Maximas, please," the guard spoke up trying to push her back into bed. "Go back to sleep, Princess Aria is fine."

Max's anger welled up. "Let me see my baby sister. Now." She put so much emphasis on the last word that the guard (who was a solid foot taller than her) slid back in fear. With the open space he provided Max dived over to the door and ran down the circular winding hallway.

When Max finally reached Aria's room she was relieved to see no blood on any of the walls and floor. She quickly padded over to where Aria laid on her bed in a strangely awkward position. Instead of laying vertically on the bed she lay horizontally across it, with her feet hanging off the side. "Ari?" Max didn't like the way her voice echoed eerily in the room. Max lightly shook Aria, but she just limply laid there, her right hand hanging over the side of the bed. "Ari?" Panic was starting to sink in. "ARI?" She flipped her over, and gasped in shock. "NO!"

Aria's skin was paler than it ever was before, and her breathing was extremely shallow. "HELP! HELP! SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR! HELP!" Before long several guards were raging through the scene, some were carrying stretchers. Ike and Pit had to hold Max back as they loaded Aria onto the stretcher. The tears were flowing from her eyes in uncontrollable waves.

One of the guards approached the three, "I'm going to have to as you to leave. We need to analyze the crime scene."

_Crime scene. _The two words echoed through Max's mind as she was pushed out of the room by Pit and Ike.

"Well," Ike cleared his throat. "Something tells me this will be a long day."

It was about two hours later when Max, Ike and Pit finally knew the condition of Aria. Max didn't like sitting in the pure white room of the hospital, it made her nervous. She brushed her short brown hair with her hands as the doctor strode into the waiting room. "Well," he began, a tall tanned lean man with a pointed nose. "We've managed to stabilize her condition but we've had to keep her on oxygen; we don't know how long we can keep her on it before..." His voice trailed off the implied meaning sinking in.

"What's wrong with her?" Max asked, nervously biting on her lip.

The doctor cleared his throat. "We are not exactly sure at this moment. However the future does not look promising. I think it's best that you say your last goodbyes now." The doctor lead them into a small white room, full of buzzing machines measuring her heart rate and giving her oxygen. Aria looked so small and helpless hooked up to the machines, and Max could hardly look at her. Max slowly tiptoed toward her side, as though getting too close would hurt her more.

"Ari," Max had to choke the words out. "I...I'm sorry..." Max burst into full-on tears, stopping only to breathe every now and then. Ike and Pit had to escort her out of the room. "She can't..." she protested between sobs. "She can't...ARI!" She began sobbing once again and continued until she couldn't anymore.

Several hours later the doctor called the trio back into his office. "We believe that we have discovered the source of the problem." His eyes looked worried and tired.

Max sprung to life instantly. "What? What is it?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "It is a rare type of poison, so rare in fact it doesn't even have a name. Also there is only 1 substance that could fight the poison. Its a rare type of herb found in lavender flowers-"

"Located by the Mountain Palace! Like in my dream!" Max jumped up. "We have to go get some!"

"Your highness," The doctor calmly replied. "It's not that easy. First we have to assemble a squad of PSA's and brief them of the mission, give them time to prepare and not to mention find a way to get there."

"We could go!" Max proposed. "Me, Ike and Pit."

"You are not suited-"

"I don't care! That's my baby sister dying over there! If there's ANY way to save her, I'm taking it no matter what I have to do to do it."

"Well, the other technicality is that the poison takes thirty-six hours to reach lethal levels. At the moment we've used up twelve of those thirty-six. Also it takes about twenty hours to make a round tripe from here, to the Mountain Palace and back...and that's not including the time it takes to find..."

"I. Don't. Care," Max added more and more accent to each word. "I am saving my baby sister no matter what. It. Takes." With those words hanging in the air, she strode out of the room and headed up to the docks to arrange a trip to the Mountain Palace.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: After a long wait, it's finally here! Hooray procrastination! I feel so much better now that this is out of the way. Sorry for the delay, but my personal life kind of got in the way (school, exams, work, having a social life, etc.) Hopefully chapter 9 will be out this month or next month. Thanks to all who reviewed. It seriously gives me such a huge desire to write when you guys review. :)

Chapter 8

It didn't take Max long to find a carriage that could take her, Ike and Pit over to the Mountains. Despite all of the doctor's warnings and precautions, Max moved forward with her plan. She couldn't watch Aria being hooked up to a bunch of machines only to die in just a few hour's time. She swore her heart would have given out.

About two hours after the scene in the doctor's office Max, Pit and Ike found themselves speeding away towards the mountain palace. Max watched the terrain change from desert to plains, then to a dense forest. The land had an amazing amount of diversity, with a forest running through the midsection of the country, the ocean running along part of the southern boarder, and the edge of the largest desert on the continent on the other side of the southern boarder. Ice and mountains glazed the northern part of the country.

"Isn't that weird Max?" Pit gently asked. Max blinked. She hadn't been paying any attention to Pit and Ike's conversation, she'd been too wrapped up in her own thoughts.

"What?"

"Well," Ike joined in. "Me and Pit were sayin' it was real weird that she was just poisoned or whatever and there wasn't even a note or anything to explain how she got the poison."

Now that Max thought about it, it did seem strange. Her stomach twisted up in knots when she thought about it. She faintly muttered, "It doesn't add up."

"There's really no motive we know of..." Pit's voice trailed off when he saw the pained expression on Max's face. "Don't worry Max, we'll save her." Max gave a half-hearted smile. "You two are really close..." He commented.

"She's the only one I have left. I have no other siblings and my mother died shortly before we adopted Aria." Max could feel the tears mounting. "And our father is the king, so h-he doesn't have time to fool around. Of course we have our various cousins and second cousins, but it's not the same." Ike and Pit nodded. "I mean, out of all the relatives around our ages..." Max paused to count and think. "There's Taylor, we don't see him much, Kristen who is a whore, Phoebe and Lori Anne, who you've met, and Shea, who's a bit odd, but she manages to run the Ocean Palace quite well."

"Wow," Ike muttered.

"Yeah," Max could hardly hold the tears back. "We're a bit dysfunctional...And we fight a lot...But Aria was different. She was just quiet and shy, a w-wallflower. But everyone else has to be loud and get their way, they have to be on the cover of whatever magazine is the shit right now. Aria never wanted any of that. She-She's always hated the spotlight. Always. That's why she feels like she doesn't fit. She was adopted, so all of the tabloids want to make her out to be some drunk-ass party girl or a crack whore who should've n-never been adopted into the royal family..." Max couldn't speak any longer. She completely broke down. Tears were pouring out of her in buckets, and her body began to ache.

Ike handed her a few small pill caplets. "You're gonna need it. You need have your strength for later. Get some sleep." She swallowed the pills and slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Max could hear screaming. She could feel the carriage slowly tip over from the upright position and fall onto its side. She felt herself fall and her body slam against something hard. She could faintly hear voices screaming, the sounds of battle. But, she could not wake herself up. It was like her spirit had been detached from her body. She knew something bad was going on but could not wake up. It wasn't until she felt something land on her face, and warm liquid begin to slide down her face. _Am I...bleeding? Oh my god! I must be!_

Her whole body tensed and she instantly jumped up. A small shard of glass fell off of her face, and she glanced up to see the window that was originally on the side of the carriage above her, and completely shattered. She looked past it to see the setting sun turn the sky a bright magenta. Then she heard the screaming louder, now mixed with the sounds of clanging metal on metal. _We must have been attacked_... She searched the carriage until she found a small sword, and crawled out of the carriage laying on its side. She saw Pit and Ike each fighting two men, all four covered in black, only their eyes were visible, and by the looks of things the fight was not going well for Pit and Ike.

She pressed herself against one of the sides of the carriage, out of view of the fighters. _Okay...I'll just jump out and attack them...Then what? I can't fight...Oh god! I'm going to die!_ _Okay Max, breathe you can get yourself out of this, just relax, just relax and-_"GOTCHA!" A rough pair of hands grabbed Max and pulled her up off the ground. "Boys!" the large muscular man shouted as he walked over to the other side of the carriage. "I got her!" Max struggled to get away from the man, squirming, kicking and punching, but it was no use.

_Great. I'm definitely going to die now._ But just then the man fell to his knees and his grip on Max slackened. She slid out and away from him and noticed an arrow, made of light in his side. But there was something strange about the arrow, it had a soft lavender glow around it. Max glanced up to see the outline of a young man with beautiful white wings with lavender tips silhouetted against the sun. The man then raised his bow again and shot two arrows, each hitting the men fighting Pit, and repeated for the men fighting Ike.

He lowered himself to the ground, and Pit instantly ran and bowed at his feet. "My Lord, thank you for your assistance."

"Pit, you've saved my neck on so many occasions it's about time I paid you back." Max instantly recognized the man, it was Prince Kaden. "Maxie!" He turned to Max. "What's up? Where's Aria?"

"Hey Kady. About Aria. Well...erm..." Max bit her lip. "We should probably go inside our carriage..." Max's voice trailed off as she turned to see the smoldering, wrecked carriage.

"I can fix it." Kaden smiled. He pulled out a white, sandy powder and threw it on the carriage as he muttered words Max could not hear. In a few seconds the carriage was back right side up, and fully fixed, as though it had never even been attacked. Kaden opened the door and smiled a cocky grin that made Max go slightly weak at the knees. "After you!"


End file.
